Last night I test drove a Hyundai Elantra GT and was impressed by it, particularly given the present price with rebate. While the overall feel and quality do not match the Mz3, nor is it quite as fast, I felt it offered great value.

List price was a very low $16.7K (US dollars). Until 3/1, Hyundai is giving a $2000 rebate. Dealer threw in an additional $1200 discount, bringing the final price quote to $13,500 even. That's for a brand new 2004 model with less than 10 miles on it.

I was stunned by that price.

This car is definitely a notch below the Mz3 on refinement and performance, but my goodness is it a lot less expensive. After looking over the Elantra GT, I can now understand how Mazda is making a profit on the Mz3.

The sedan version of this car was the winner of Edmunds' best sedan under $15,000 last year, before being supplanted by the Mz3i this year. However the sub-$15K 3i is missing several of the features listed above, such as the hatchback, sunroof, leather, 60K warranty, and more.

I think you'll get MZ3 recommendation more cause you're in a Mazda3 forum
Hyundai has a lot of improvement from the last 10 yrs, so it is a great car also, but it may have lower resale value after several yrs than the MZ3. I would say just get whatever you want to have.

As one who has test driven both, these cars are much closer than what some of you allot. As I stated on multiple times in the first post, the Mz3 is better, but nowhere near &quot;light years ahead.&quot; The mere fact that it was #1 on the 2003 Edmunds list in the &lt;$15K catagory is proof enough that it is a good car. The Elantra GT is a surprisingly well-executed European-style hatchback, drawing several positive reviews from European mags, which frequently referred to it as a &quot;mini-Saab.&quot;

Resale means nothing to me, my average length of ownership for a new car is 11 years, none of them are worth anything after that.

I was looking for any comments from people familar with both, but I guess few are.

Oh, and it had a few more options that I didn't list, like fog lights, remote key entry, and trip computer.

Here's an older review from Road &amp; Track, they've made some improvements since then, such as adding Varible Valve Timing to the engine, which broadened the powerband.

DON'T DO IT! NOOOOO! I owned an Elantra. I took it in every 2 months for something! and the resale value is horrendous. Ok, so resale doesn't matter to you, but the Elantra does not hold up well. Things broke all the freaking time. One plus though: the elantra in 2000 had the most comfortable seats I have ever been in.

I know one person who owns a Hyundai. He bought a brand new Tiburon last year and it's been towed to the dealership twice - TWICE - in one year. Personally if I buy a new car I want to bring it to the dealer for routine maintinance and nothing else. I've seen no major mechanical problems mentioned so far by any member of this board. The Mz3 may cost a few grand more, but you're paying for quality.

Have you driven a 3 yet? If so, which model and how did it compare to the Elantra? What about fit and finish? Yeah, it is a less expensive car so you would expect the 3 to be better overall, just like there are better cars than the 3 that cost more. However, It sounds like you get a lot for your money in the Elantra. Hyundai's quality has improved quite a bit and resale is not quite as bad as some might think. They are much much better than when they first came out in 1986. I am still not sure I would buy the Hyundai but I can afford and can justify coughing up the extra coin for the 3. If your budget limits you to $13,500 then it sounds like a good option.

BTW, if you go to carsdirect.com you can get it for less than $13,500.

If you read the first line in the first post in this thread, you will notice that I said I have testdriven the Mz3 twice. They were both 3S, one with auto, one with manual. I have also spent several minutes looking it over at two different autoshows. And I stated several times in that first post that I found the 3 to be a better car. No question about that.

There has been an exhaustive comparison between the Hyundai Elantra and Mazda3 on Edmunds forums. In the end, all parties agreed that the Elantra does not directly compete with the Mazda3. People will not have difficulty choosing between these two cars. If you want a lot of features for a little bit of money, then the Elantra is it. If you want a higher quality vehicle with better driving dynamics, then the Mazda3 is it.

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